Transcript
Speaker: on the concrete down by the old town hall. Smithfield Sidewalk Stories in the center of it all. From the heart full of love, not for glory.
Speaker: These are the Smithfield Sidewalk Stories. These are the Smithfield Sidewalk Stories. We love it. We love it.
Speaker: Hello and welcome Smithfield Sidewalk Stories, of podcast for, about, and from downtown Smithfield. i am Helen Caloz the Events And Marketing Manager. And I'm Heidi Gilman, the Executive Director for Downtown Smithfield Development.
Speaker: Hi, Heidi. Hi, Helen. How are you today? I'm lovely. How are you? i am great. It is Monday. Yes. And it's actually great Monday. It's not raining today. i'm seeing sunshine now for the second day in a row. and it's lovely temperatures. We're not sweltering. Yes, it's a nice Monday.
Speaker: What are we going to talk about today, Heidi? So we have got an amazing interview with Brent Reck. For those of you who don't know him, you are going to find out some great things about our new planning director for the town of Smithfield. And we have some upcoming events that are coming that we'd like to share. And we also have a little tidbit of trivia and history that you might find very fun and interesting as we start working towards the 250th anniversary of our little dear town, Smithfield. so April 2027 is Smithfield's birthday. And as I am trying to plan a super fun birthday party for our town with lots of other great people, I've been learning little bits about the town. So Heidi, I want you to look at this photo.
Speaker: And I know this is an audio podcast, everyone. So I'm going to put the photo in the captions and give you the link to where I got it from the Johnson County Heritage Center. And it is a photo of Farmer's Day from the nineteen fifty s Heidi, what do you know about Farmer's Day? So Farmer's Day, very fascinating, very interesting. Actually, our friend, Winget Lasseter, wrote a book. And in that, he shared, and we don't know the exact date that it started. At least I can't find any information on that. But Farmer's Day was created as a way to start celebrating the agriculture that was happening in the area, particularly tobacco farms, that there were a series of Fires being set, perhaps, during the Depression, people and probably in need of some insurance money, because i clearly the Christian the United States really hard, and our farmers, the hardest of all. But as a way to to maybe look forward and think positively and celebrate the good things happening with the agriculture, they developed Farmer's Day, which eventually, down the road, after Farmer's Day had kind of gone by the wayside, and Yam picked up on its coattails. Yes. What I found the most fascinating, it was somewhere in the 1940s, but it's specifically the Chamber of Commerce for Smithfield came up with the idea for Farmer's Day. So to know that like a Chamber of Commerce is not, it's not 2000 idea or even like a 1980s idea. Like Chambers of Commerce have been parts of our town and like small towns all over for a lot longer than what I think a lot of us realized. Absolutely. Well, the whole point of a Chamber of Commerce is to help our business community grow and thrive. So I would imagine that if we really looked at maybe that's the next history need to look up is Chamber of Commerce. You know, when did it start here? But i I would imagine they probably age old. They probably as far back as ancient times if we really get down to it. That would be a fun history rabbit hole to go down. But the most famous Farmer's Day took place on August 15th, 1945. And that is where Smithfield and all of Johnson County celebrated the end of World War two The day before on August 14th, the Japanese had surrendered. Farmer's Day was already planned. They already were going to kick off the tobacco season that following day. But it was a big celebration for all of Johnston County, Smithfield, and America. bet. bet. Can you imagine? it Wouldn't have been great to be there that day. Yeah.
Speaker: Pretty cool. What I love about this photo is you can look at it at the intersection of 3rd and Market, and you're looking up Market Street towards the river, and you can see so much of the architecture that is still on Market Street today in this photo. The signs are gone and they look different, but you can see where Naren and Wenzel's offices are now. you can see where the Johnson County Heritage Center is, and I thought it was a really cool photo.
Speaker: It is a great photo. And look, it's two lanes with angled parking. Wouldn't that be fun to have today? bad we cant It's beautiful though. And you know, it's, it's active and there's people all over the place and what a fun, fun looking day.
Speaker: Yeah. And I also, it makes me think of the car show that we do now on Market Street with the Amonim Festival with those antique, well not antique at the time, but for us now, antique trucks and cars just parked all over. Great photo. Love it.
Speaker: Okay, so a few weeks ago, I sat down with Brent Reck, and he is the town manager for the town of Smithfield. And it's a really fun interview. I cannot wait for you to listen to it. We work so closely with town planning in everything we do here. Anytime that we put on an event, we have to file a permit. We are regularly looking up UDOs and sign ordinances and saying, okay, well, how can we help our business owners do this? And our planning department is a really wonderful asset for us. And they're They're a great bunch of folks that we work with. They're amazing. We love them.
Speaker: So I am excited to hear this interview with Brett. You want to play it
Speaker: it? Yeah. Are you ready to jump into it, Brett? I'm ready. I'm ready. Bring it to me. Can you start off with your full, not your, you know, government name, but your full name. Full government name. Brett Ashley Reck.
Speaker: Okay. A-S-H-L-E-Y. And as a kid, I got teased horribly for Ashley. So as a grown-up, I carry it with me. Previously, before I was married my middle name was Ashley. Really? Yeah. We're in the Ashley Middle Name Club. We're good company. What is it that you do? I am the planning director for the town of Smithfield. Okay. Now, if someone were to not know what a planning director does, a general summary.
Speaker: What is planning? Yeah, which is an excellent question because, to be completely honest, with until 25 years ago, I didn't really know what planning was either. So planning has, you know, there's many different hats with planning. The the short answer of that is land use and land development.
Speaker: the the The bigger picture is everything to do with from historic properties to future land use, developing roads and sidewalks and walking trails. subdivisions, commercial buildings, providing connectivity to the local cities, working with our our public works and our utility departments to to make sure that we have infrastructure that's going to follow development. The planning director sees a little bit of all of those aspects of it, where from
Speaker: You know, we we take in site plan and everything from sign permits to site plan review and development in accordance with our unified development ordinance to build the city and develop the city and look forward at, you know, our our long range planning and all that good stuff. Awesome.
Speaker: So where are you from originally? I was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, about 35 minutes from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, until I was 18 years old. And then joined the military, the U.S. Army, and traveled a little bit of everywhere. My last duty station was at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. And I loved North Carolina. loved the...
Speaker: Triangle area and i knew I never wanted to go back. I wanted to stay here for good. And so that that got me to kind of the Wake County, Johnston County line. And then I've been in Johnston County since 2008. And you recently became the town planner, I believe was back in March?
Speaker: Correct. So what brought you to this position? So approximately 14 years ago, finished my time in the Army roughly 2002 and joined local government with the town of Cary as a planner and then a code enforcement officer. Kind of rising up through the ranks, left Cary and came to Smithfield as a code enforcement officer, where I worked for about six years. And then I get to the the point where the former planning director wasn't quite sure when he wanted to retire, and there was a former town planner. He wasn't sure if he was going to move up or not. And so I kind of, I got to the point professionally where I didn't know if I was going to be able to grow or not. So I left here and went to Holly Springs Engineering. From there to being the developer, private developer, and then the position of the planning director came available, which is where I wanted to be from the beginning. So it gave me the opportunity to apply and get the job as planning director for Smithfield.
Speaker: So it brought me brought me back. You know, it was one of the one of those interview questions was what makes you different? You know, strengths and weaknesses. and When I left here the first time, it was for no other reason besides professional growth and development. I loved Smithfield, loved the people, loved the job, loved the and and believed in it. And it was it was one of the most difficult decisions I ever had to make. So it felt completely natural to come back. That's awesome.
Speaker: We had talk about your famous connection to the town. i heard from a birdie that at a ham and yam festival, you got discovered.
Speaker: And now you're the face of a nationwide commercial brand. So, uh... That's pretty funny. Yeah, so so I was at the Ham and Yum Festival, i don't know, 10 years ago, 12 years ago maybe, and was walking down the street and I had a guy pull me out of the crowd and ask if I'd ever seen the show Lizard Lick Towing. And I said, yeah. And he said, what do you think? And I said, it's a crazy show. you know And he said, would you want to be a part of it? And I said, sure. And he said, well, I didn't think you were a huge fan of the show. said, that doesn't mean that I want to be on television. You know, we'll see what it goes like. And so i went and auditioned for it and got the role and was on the show Lizard Lick Towing for a few episodes. But that launched me into working with the company Talent One, a talent agency out of Raleigh. And I thought I would dabble in that for a little bit. And by the time it was over, i actually did a couple of, I did magazine ads and commercials for AutoZone and Advanced Auto Parts and Napa stores. Then I shot a ah training video for IBM.
Speaker: It was on lizard-lick towing. And then i did a handful of other other things where commercials and small acting gigs and Everything from the the show One Tree Hill all the way up to shooting magazine ads, holding radiators, putting radiator in a car and stuff like that. so I did that for about five years. This is a part time job. But yeah, it kind of it kind of took off. And from the Ham and Yam Festival, it kind of threw me out there. so Brenner, Brent Ruck. They're our big Hollywood stars. Oh, man. i don't know that I'd go that far. It was a lot of fun, though. It was a lot of fun. It was funny. You know, one of the one of the questions I had for the director of the show was, I said, I thought this was reality TV. It seems like some of this stuff is scripted. And he said, well, you know, it's true TV. If you listen to our motto, it's not reality, it's actuality. And I said, oh, that must be the legal disclaimer for reality. Having some flexibility with our lines there. It was really cool. The people were really cool. So you get to see Smithfield through the unique lens as a town planner.
Speaker: What is your favorite thing about the current layout and architectural personality of downtown Smithfield? So I see so much potential in in downtown Smithfield. And, you know, one of the things that attracted me to Smithfield from the beginning was I grew up in an area like this where um Smithfield has some of that character of sawmill towns and and agriculture and stuff like that. It was steel and coal where I grew up in West Virginia. So I see a lot of the similarities. And to see applicants coming in now and people that want to invest money in our area, time and resources, it's it's just, it's a great feeling. Because I think there's, you know, Smithfield's got 200 years, 200 plus years of history. It's exciting. to I feel like we're rejuvenating the the town. Where a lot of that industry kind of left, I feel like we're back to that now. And so looking at the downtown, I feel like it's it's on the rise and and it's just powerful for all of us. Planning for the future means balancing growth with preserving history. How do you plan to use Smithfield's unique heritage as a launchpad for modern innovation and development?
Speaker: I think that ah that's a great question. I think one of the things is that we need to not ignore our history. It's a history-rich area. and And I know some of the challenges with growth and development, especially for folks that claim to be anti-growth or anti-development, things like that, is that we don't want to change so much where we lose our history. And we lose the feel of Smithfield and we lose, you know, the feel of Johnston County is as a whole of of where we are. I think growth and development is a really, really great thing. I think it's really important. But I think we need to stay true to our roots, who we are. And i think there's a way to to have a positive impact while still hanging on to that history at the same time.
Speaker: Yeah. Okay. Last question. oh nope. I got two. Sorry. When you are off the clock and you're just enjoying the town as a resident, what is your favorite local spot or something that you like to experience? Oh, I'm a shopper. Well, everybody in my family is shopper. So my fiance is kind of addicted to the outlets. So we spend a lot of time at the outlets. The other one is she enjoys the South Brightly Flea Market. Okay. Down there. Because it is it's such a diverse area, and it's packed full of so many cool things and just unique shopping experiences. I'm looking forward to Victory Steakhouse opening it up right down the street. I think they're going to blow it away. And, you know, those guys, they did a wonderful job as Soda Sopa. And so I'm kind of a foodie, too. So Gandolfo's down the street, or I guess it's... Gotham's. Gotham's Deli now. And the diner next door and the the new pizza shop right up street. All three of those places are three of my favorites. Have you made it over to Curry Corner yet? I have not. i have not. But we had a we had a person come in the other day, an applicant. And when he left, that's where he went for lunch and came back and said,
Speaker: If you haven't tried it, it's fantastic. you It really is. They have the most beautiful dishes that are like authentic to the region. Really? and they They're chefs from Afghanistan. And so they just are really that like Northern Indian. Yeah. It is. That's really cool. Super good.
Speaker: That's really cool. I'll definitely check them out. Okay. Now the last question. Yeah. If you had summarize Brent in a single word or phrase, what would that be? Wow. Kind of so makes me sound crazy talking about myself. I don't i don't i don't know. fair Fair and balanced, I guess, would you know is how I like to perceive myself. yeah you know the The things that are important to me is you know just being honest and listening to people and caring about what you do and And I don't know. I like people. I like people. And i just I want to be remembered as somebody who cared about what they're doing. You know, hey, you know, cared about what I'm doing professionally. But personally, somebody that's good to my word and true and honest and kind and just a person of the community, you know, no more, no less.
Speaker: thats so that's a lot more than a couple words. goes But that's me. Okay. Brent, is there anything specific that you'd like to plug? Any websites or social media? Anything like that? oh Let's see. on On a personal note, I'm getting married on November 7th. Oh, that's awesome. umm Super duper excited about it. My fiance is probably irritated because I bug her about it every single day, but she's she's phenomenal. Come down and see us in Smithfield. You know, we have a lot of folks that will walk in our door that start off with the same way. um i have a question I don't know who to ask and I don't know what to do. We're happy to help anybody. We we have a ton of people that walk in that we really don't have any idea of what direction to go. And, you know, with Smithfield having Johnston County across the street, that's where building inspections and environmental inspections and stuff like that come from. And instead of us giving that answer of that's not my job, we do the best that we can to help the people that walk in the door and help get them connected with county or state or fire or police or wherever it is. You'll never catch anybody saying it's not our job and stuff like that here. And we all live by that. You know, we we really do care about what we do. So come see us and hopefully we won't disappoint you.
Speaker: What a fun interview, Helen. You guys had a great time, it sounds like. Brent is such a big personality. And if you've met Brent in person, you also know that he's just a very big guy. a guy For sure. So, he yeah, he has the personality to fit all of his over six feet build.
Speaker: lot of fun. Well, awesome. Thank you so much. And seriously, he means it. If you have any questions, if you just want to meet the team, that office is amazing. They are there for you and when it comes to anything related to permits, to building, to ideas maybe that you have for this town. Just stop in and say hi, get to know them Yeah. And if you don't know where to start, planning is a fantastic place to start because if they don't have your answer, they'll at least know who to connect you with to find that answer. Absolutely.
Speaker: And same thing with our office. You know if you're not sure kind of where to go and you've got ideas, you've got questions, you can start at the DSDC. We'll talk about anything and everything downtown and then get you connected to the right places in the town Smithfield to get it started. Yeah.
Speaker: So speaking of things in Smithfield, what do we have coming up in Smithfield next, Heidi? We've got a lot of stuff on the calendar, folks. um If you would like to see these in writing, check out our website, downtownsmithfield.com. We do have a calendar of events for all the things coming up and also our social media pages, Facebook. Either we have events listed or we will be publishing posts regarding all of these events. So Coming up very soon, we've got the River Rat Regatta, and that is on August 8th. Yes.
Speaker: Sign in is at 10 a.m. If you haven't seen this, folks, and God willing, we don't have a hurricane and we have a good river to do this thing, it is so much fun. This is about boats made out of cardboard and duct tape and... Glue, and that's it. Glue, yeah. And they float for as long as they can float, which is not usually very far, but down the river and starting at the boat ramp. So it's a ton of fun. If for some reason we do have rain or we have a two-fold of a river, they do have a rain date for the following week.
Speaker: No, it's ah August 22nd. I'm sorry, August 22nd, two weeks later. And if the river is still nasty at that time, they will do it regardless in the swimming pool of this rack. So it's going to be a fun event and we'll get lots of pictures. But be sure to come out, build your boat, see what you get.
Speaker: Yeah. ah There are prizes for who makes it down the river the fastest. And then there's also prizes for most memorable sinking. So they're the Titanic Award, which cracks me up Sinking style. I love it. All Also on that same Saturday, it's a very full Saturday in downtown Smithfield. We have the Smithfield Signature Fresh Market from 8 to 12 at the park next to Town Hall.
Speaker: And Once Upon a Crime has brought in Michelle Leathers, who is an Amazon bestseller novelist. She has two series, Shadow Copy, and They All Had a Reason. And she'll be doing a book signing starting at 11 o'clock at the bookstore. How exciting. This is their first book signing. Hopefully one of many, many that happened downtown. But also Tuesday, ah actually Tuesday, August 4th. I want to go back. We will not be having town council that night because it is national night out. And that's being held in community parks from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Speaker: Great way to come out, meet our officers, and, you know, have them serve you up some hot dogs and just play get to know our police officers. Tuesday, August 11th at 11 the park next to the library, we are doing the official naming process. unveiling ceremony and ribbon cutting. So 11am that morning on Tuesday, free popsicles. And there's going to just be some fantastic guests, the you person that suggested the name of the park, the artist that painted the mural, the landscape architect that designed the space. It'll be a really fun time. Absolutely. And then the following Tuesday, August 18th is our town council meeting, regularly scheduled meeting at seven zero p m
Speaker: And then I want to jump forward to the month of October. October is jam-packed with lots of events in downtown Smithfield. So the first weekend is AvaFest. You can go to the Ava Gardner Museum website for all of the details. But on Friday the 2nd, they'll be doing the Ava Gardner Festival Gala. And then Saturday the 3rd, I believe they have a film festival planned. And I think they're doing breakfast at the museum on Sunday. as well So three days of great fun, but get to know Ava Gardner like you've never known her before. Find some fun, interesting history and facts about her. I believe they're celebrating her life in Spain, which is España. España, that's right. So flamenco dancing, there's going lot cool things. Then the following Saturday, Saturday, October 10th, is the third annual Oktoberfest in downtown Smithfield. So from 12 to 4, you'll find us on 3rd Street celebrating all things German. Roast. Come eat. a Good German food. Listen to great music.
Speaker: Yes, we have a live band planned. There will be a street festival. It's going to be a really fun day. Final thing that I want to talk about on Saturday, October 24th, the Essence of AVA Downtown Spedfield Scholarship Spotlight Pageant will be taking place. So in just a few weeks, you'll be able to start applying. This is for our young women that are in high school, so somewhere in between 14 and 19.
Speaker: And an opportunity to really show how your Johnston County roots are going to propel you forward to your to your dreams, just like Ava Gardner. I love that. And this is this is a local pageant. It's not part of any kind of pageant stream like the Miss America or any of those things, but it is the scholarship opportunity for young people. So...
Speaker: Unlike a beauty pageant, we're not doing you know ball gowns and that type of thing, but we are showcasing the talent that our young ladies have, and we're really encouraging them to showcase who they are as individuals. So instead of the ball gowns or that you know fashion feature, it's going to be shows you and your sense of personal self through design.
Speaker: So it'll be a lot of fun to hear from these kids and be sure and check it out. This is the first one, and we're hoping to have this be an annual tradition going forward. For more opportunities about how to apply or for about the scholarship pageant, please go to www.downtownsmithfield.com or whenever school starts back up, ask your guidance counselor.
Speaker: Absolutely. And likewise, if you have any questions about downtown Smithfield or you would like to get involved in the work that downtown Smithfield is doing, we're always looking for volunteers. Our committees are open to anybody joining them as well. So check us out again at downtownsmithfield.com or you can email us directly at info, I-N-F-O at downtownsmithfield.com. We're always available to meet with you. So we are happy to meet with you in person, over the phone, Zoom. We're pretty flexible here. Be sure to follow, like, and subscribe to our Smithfield Sidewalk Stories podcast. Be sure to check back every other Monday for your next episode of Smithfield Sidewalk Stories. And until then, we'll see you on the sidewalk.
